St. Paul daily globe., 1887-08-13
A PROTEST FROM MANDAN
Some Very Blunt Language in Making
Some Very Direct Charges.
AN ITEMIZED BILL.
Is There an Agreement Between Geve-
land and Senator Sewell to
Keep Francis in Office.
To the Editor of the Globe

| To the ditor of the Globe.
If there is one Republican office holder
in this broad territory who should have
been invited to quit long ago it is Judge
| Francis. This is not partisan express
| sion. 1t is the expression of Republi-
can and Democrat alike. He is the one
Republican judge in Dakota for whose
removal lawyers and the public were
clamOring when Cleveland was elected
He is the one Republican judge that
has survived all the others, against
whom nothing particular was said. Ii
matters not in what capacity you have
| to do with FranciS-whether you are a
lawyer practicing before him, citizen
sitting on the grand or petit jury,
a suitOr with case-yOu are bound tO
become disgusted before you have had
a long acquaintance with him. 1t is a
notorious fact that the people of Mandan
have an especially poor opinion of him.
Two years ago an indignation meeting
was held while he was holding court, at
which the then mayer presided, and his
conduct was criticised without mercy.
The trouble is that he is erratic, violates
the law, is hasty in his judgment and
preiudiced. All these faults are easily
proven, and chapter and verse can be
| given for every one.
Take the question of violation of law,
| and in connection / would show how he
is breaking the law of Dakota every day.
On page III of the code penaD, section
130, we find the following:
Accepting Gifts from Parties-Eyery judi
cial officer, juror, referee, arbitrator or um-
pire who accepts any gift from any person,
knowing him TO be party in interest to any
action or proceedings then pendiug or about
to be brought before him, is guilty of mis-
demeanOr. -.
AS matter of fact, Judge Francis has
had cases pending before him for years
in which the Northern Pacific Railroad
company is defendant. But, regardless
entirely of the letter and the spirit of
the law as quoted above, he travels ON a
pass and has done so ever since he has
been on the bench, * - . 80 !.
THIS SIN Is ALL THE MORE FIAGRANT
when it is remembered that the terri
tory allows him 81 500 year for travel
ing expenses, which is!6ver and above
his salary of $1,000 year, which he gets
from Washington. He is allowed this
travelling expense money so that he may
not have to accept any bribes in the
shape of passes from the roads that he
travels over, but he pockets the money
and apprOpriates it to his own personal
use. The fact that this is glaring out
rage is rendered the more apparent
when it is seen how he acts as the at
tor ney for the railroad when any cases
come before him in which the road is a
party. Let me illustrate. A few days
ago case was before him of Kennedy
against the Northern Pacific. This was
a suit to recover sum of money for
personal I'M jurieS sustained in the year
1882. This was the first time that the
plaintiff could bring it to trial, as the
judge had aided and abetted the de-
fendant in past years to get it pushed
aside. The jury, after hearing all the
evidence, were instructed to bring in a
verdict for the defendant. Then came
another case of Adams VS.. the Northern
Pacific. This was also suit for per-
sonal injuries. The evidence for the
plaintiff was all put in, and the judge
thinking that the defendant had an
excellent show of getting off with moth
ing to pay-charged the jury and said
that he would leave it to their judg-
verdict for the plaintiff he would set it
aside He also told them to be back
with their verdict in five minutes, or
they would be locked up all night. He
would not allow them to bring in
sealed verdict. They went out and re-
turned in five minutes with verdict
for the plaintiff in the sum of 81 200. He
was awfully mad at the result-tOO mad
for utterance. He kept the vialS of his
wrath bottled up till the next morning,
when he gave the jury turning over
because they had found their verdict in
so much of hurry. He said that it was
an unjust verdict. But, up to the time
of writing, he has not set the verdict
aside; and the reason no doubt is be-
cause he knows that
HE WOULD BE PROMPTLY REVERSED
by the supreme court of the territory
when it comes before them.
Judge Francis is erratic, hasty, said.
A day or two ago, on strictly ex parte
evidence that came before him, he
called member of the grand jury a per-
jurer, and told him that he would see
that he was indicted for the offense.
He, of course, ordered him off the grand
jury. In the course of an hour or two
he found out his mistake and reinstated
the man. He never heSitateS to take
sides in every case that comes before
him. In the case of Adams against the
Northern Pacific Railroad company, a
juryman informs the writer that so large
a Judgment would not have been found
by the jury if the judge had not, during
the trial of the case, done all he could to
prejudice the side of the plaintiff. The
man who goes into the court of Francis
for day at the beginning of term and
hears him talk would assume that he
was an upright judge, determined to
though the heavens fall. But, let
case come up in which the
railroad company is interested, and if
it comes before jury it is more than
probable that verdict will be given
against the company, because he acts so
palpably in the interests of the road.
The railroad company would be in
pocket if it would take up his pass and
have him against them. Then he would
prejudice the jurieS against the men
who sue the road.
1t is no partisan appeal that is sent up
to the administration to remove Francis.
The signatures of every attorney in the
district-with the exception of three at
the most-cOuld be obtained praying for
his removal: and the majority of the
attorneys are Republicans. Nine outof
ten men who have had business in his
court, whether as suitors or jurymen,
could be secured for like petition. AS
a matter of public policy he should be
removed. He should be indicted of a
misdemeanor for accepting gifts from
party to cases that are before him. His